English winery Chapel Down breaks crowdfunding record

English winemaker Chapel Down has raised £3.9m from more than 1,400 investors through a crowdfunding campaign, breaking the record for the largest raise in just 24 days.

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Chapel Down is the first UK listed company in the world to raise new funds using crowdfunding.

As a result of the campaign, hosted on equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs, Chapel Down will have more than 1,400 new shareholders, with individual investments ranging from just £10 to more than £250,000.

The new funds will be used by Chapel Down to scale the business. Funds will be used to plant more vines, build a new winery, construct new distribution and storage facilities, build a brewery and a visitor attraction and extend the hospitality facilities at the company’s headquarters in Tenterden (Kent).

“We’re absolutely delighted with the success of our equity crowdfunding offers,” says Frazer Thompson, CEO of Chapel Down. “Raising money is obviously fantastic and will allow us to grow the business faster, but the fact that over 1,400 new investors have decided to buy into our story is just as important.

“We wanted to build a significant body of shareholders who are supporters of our brands, and who buy our products and encourage their friends to do the same. Crowdfunding has helped us to achieve this – and we are delighted to have used this innovative way to raise capital and to welcome our new shareholders to the company.”

In addition to holding their shares, the new investors will benefit from a number of shareholder benefits, including EIS relief, discounts on wines and beers, as well as tours of Chapel Down’s facilities.

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